TCL is also working on foldable smartphones

You may not know TCL as a smartphone manufacturer. The brand is mostly recognized for TVs, however, they also release smartphones under the Blackberry and Alcatel brands. I know, it may come as a shock to you, but it is true. And like all major smartphone manufacturers, it seems that they are also working on smartphones that bend and fold. Cnet managed to get their hands on a few renders and patient images from the company depicting 5 different concepts.

Two of the devices presented seem to be bigger, more like a tablet than a phone. They bend either inwards, like a book, or outwards, like the Xiaomi prototype (but with only one bend point). Two of the devices look more like a traditional smartphone, however, they bend on the short edge. This is similar to the old school clam phones like the Motorola Razr. Finally, the lest device, which is also the most interesting one. This won’t fold completely but will transform into a smartwatch that will wrap around your arm.

No word on when such devices will hit the market for now. They are only renders and patents right now and there are high chances that we may not see these on shelves this year. Still, it is nice to see that more and more companies are working on this technology and hopefully, in a couple of years, the prices will be accessible to most people.